Sonam Kapoor

Sonam Kapoor (pronounced born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. She is the daughter of actor Anil Kapoor and a member of the Kapoor family. One of the highest paid actresses and one of the most popular celebrities in India, Kapoor was nominated for three Filmfare Awards and won two Stardust Awards.
Kapoor studied theatre and arts at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore and assisted the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on his 2005 drama film Black. She made her acting debut in 2007 with Bhansali's romantic drama Saawariya. Though unsuccessful at the box office, Kapoor's performance earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. She then featured in the drama Delhi-6 (2009) and had her first commercial success with the romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010). After appearing in a series of commercial failures, Kapoor earned her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination for the romantic drama Raanjhanaa (2013). She featured briefly in the successful biographical sports film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and played the lead in the romantic comedy Khoobsurat (2014).
Kapoor supports various charities and is a prominent celebrity endorser for several brands. The actress is known in the media for her outspoken personality and is cited as one of the most fashionable Indian celebrities. Her off-screen life is the subject of fervent tabloid reporting in India.

Born

9 June 1985 (age 30)
Mumbai, India

Ethnicity

Punjabi

Occupation

Actress

Years active

2007–present

Parent(s)

Sunita and Anil Kapoor

Relatives

Kapoor Family

Sonam Kapoor was born in the suburb of Chembur, Mumbai on 9 June 1985. Her father is actor and producer Anil Kapoor, the founder of Anil Kapoor Films Company. Her mother is Sunita Kapoor, a former model and designer. The family moved to a house in the suburb of Juhu when she was one month old. Kapoor has two younger siblings: film producer Rhea and brother Harshvardan. Her paternal grandfather—filmmaker Surinder Kapoor—died in 2011 after suffering a cardiac arrest. She is the niece of film producer Boney Kapoor and actor Sanjay Kapoor. Actress Sridevi, who is Boney's wife, is her aunt. Her paternal cousins are the actors Arjun Kapoor and Mohit Marwah. Kapoor shares a close bond with her maternal grandmother and admits that she has a major influence on her personality.
Educated at the Arya Vidya Mandir school in Juhu, Kapoor enrolled at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore for her pre-university education where she studied theatre and arts. Kapoor said she would bully boys in school: "I would push them, [and] beat them". She described herself as a "naughty" and "carefree" child. In an interview with India Today, Kapoor said that she loved sports at school, playing rugby and basketball.As part of an annual tradition, Kapoor—a practicing Hindu—and her family celebrate the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi each year.
Kapoor recalled she got her first job at age 15 as a waitress, though only lasted a week. As a teenager, she suffered from obesity: "I had every issue related to weight that I could have.".

I was unhealthy, I had bad skin, and I had hair growing on my face!" Kapoor's condition led to her being diagnosed with borderline diabetes and polycystic ovarian disease.
Kapoor attended the University of East London, studying economics and political science. Actress Rani Mukerji, who was then working on her forthcoming project Black, visited her in Singapore during a holiday. Kapoor expressed her desire to work with her as a crew member of the film. On her father's recommendation to the film's director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, she worked as an assistant director on the film.In a 2013 interview with The Times of India, the actress said that she initially aspired to be a director and writer. While working on Black, Bhansali expressed interest in casting Kapoor as the lead in his next film, Saawariya. She was advised to lose weight; she weighed about 80 kilograms (180 lb) to that point. Motivated by Bhansali's confidence in her, she lost 35 kilograms (77 lb) in two years. Before beginning work on the film, Kapoor studied acting under the mentorship of the theatre personalities Roshan Taneja, Jayati Bhatia and Feroz Abbas Khan.
Kapoor's role in the romantic drama Raanjhanaa (2013) proved to be a breakthrough. Writing for The Indian Express, Geety Sahgal called it her best performance to that point. The film tells the story of Zoya Haider, a young Muslim student from Varanasi who is drawn into Indian politics after the murder of her Sikh lover. The actress was cast as Zoya who is—in her words—"extremely feminine, but she knows her mind." In preparation for the part, Kapoor interacted with students, attended workshops and practiced with theatre groups associated with Jawaharlal Nehru University. She observed Jaya Bachchan's work in Guddi (1971) which she felt was "perfect" for her role. While discussing her character in the film, she described her approach to acting: "I have always tried to do different films and ... I try to be different for every character. I like doing different things to challenge myself in every way and don’t like to repeat myself."Raanjhanaa was met with mixed reviews but Kapoor's performance was praised. Rajeev Masand wrote that Kapoor "does some of her best work here, going smoothly from innocent to manipulative to cynical, without ever losing Zoya’s inherent vulnerability." With global earnings of over ₹1 billion (US$15 million), Raanjhanaa emerged as a commercial success. Among other honours, Kapoor received her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination.
Greater success came to Kapoor later that year when she played a brief role in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), a biopic on athlete Milkha Singh. Made on the budget of ₹300 million (US$4.5 million), she was paid ₹11 (17¢ US) for playing her part. She cited her admiration for director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and the film as the reasons for the salary. Critically acclaimed, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was one of the top-grossing films of the year. Critic Sarita A. Tanwar explained in her review that despite the limited scope of her role, Kapoor proved to "be the perfect warm counterpart to Milkha."
In Yash Raj Films' Bewakoofiyaan (2014), a comedy-drama set in the inflation-hit economy of India, Kapoor played Mayera, a banker, opposite Ayushmann Khurrana and Rishi Kapoor. Film critic Anupama Chopra found the film to be "exhaust[ing]" and wrote that Kapoor was unable to make a mark in it as her role was poorly written: "She attempts to imbue Mayera with some texture but it’s an uphill climb." Her second film release of 2014 was the romantic comedy Khoobsurat opposite Pakistani actor Fawad Afzal Khan, an adaptation of the 1980 film of the same name in which she played a physiotherapist, a role based on the one played by Rekha in the original. Kapoor became India's first actress to star in a film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Khoobsurat performed moderately well at the box office and garnered her a Best Actress nomination at Filmfare. Andy Webster of The New York Times added that Kapoor shared some of Anne Hathaway's "early incandescence" and a "Julia Roberts-like smile". However, Reuters' Shilpa Jamkhandikar called her "loud and exasperating, rather than the vivacious, klutzy do-gooder she is portrayed as